BattleBots (2015–…): Season 5, Episode 14 - The World Championship Finals - full transcript

Oh, my god, kenny. Matty
vasquez is doing the impossible.

- Good job, matthew.
- Drive it.

Whoo!

In the battlebots universe,

from the moment a builder first
conceives of a robot's design,

the dream of competing
at the highest level,

on the biggest stage,
for the ultimate prize,

is ever present.

Now, eight teams sit on
the precipice of greatness,

and only one can
become champion.

Fight! Fight! Fight!



Let the battle
for the giant nut begin!

Sparks of
imagination have evolved

into heavyweight
marvels of engineering.

But tonight...

- Oh, come on!
- Only one machine

fulfills its destiny...

and writes it name...

In the history books.

- Whoo!
- The deadliest tournament in robot combat

reaches its
dramatic conclusion...

-Oh! -Hey, daniel!

Right now.

Let's go!

Robots, activate.



Welcome to battlebots.
I'm chris rose and with me,

a man who won the title of
world's best friend, kenny florian.

Thanks, chris. I'm
honored, I guess.

Listen, kenny, the
moment is finally here.

After back-to-back titles for
paul ventimiglia and bite force...

long live the king!

We are set to
crown a brand-new champion.

That's right, chris. From
a field of 32, only 8 teams remain.

And tonight, you'll
see the quarter-finals,

the semi-finals and
the championship match.

The one team left standing
at the end of the carnage

will earn the right to hoist the
most coveted trophy on the planet,

the giant nut!

For these teams, that
giant nut is so close

and yet so far away.

While the quarter-finals
features some familiar names,

there's a slew of
lower-seeded teams

who are both alive
and very dangerous.

That's right. We saw the
18th seed, tantrum, shock the world

when it took down the number
two overall seed, bloodsport.

Aren hill's team has had
a meteoric rise this season,

but can he keep it up against one
of the blueblood bots of this sport?

Jamison go and sawblaze
have never been more confident,

and believe the giant
nut is theirs for the taking.

Shatter! Is the lone
hammer bot left in the tournament,

and adam wrigley has
been dialed in with wins

over lock jaw and mammoth.

Now, he's facing
a team, end game,

who is also a tournament rookie.

But with possibly the most powerful
weapon left in the competition,

jack barker and nick mabey feel
like they have a legitimate shot

to become the first
international battlebots champion.

We'll also see the
overall number one, hydra,

take on the number
eight seed, whiplash.

It's whyachi versus vasquez,

two names that have helped
make the sport what it is today.

Jake ewert's bot
has earned the title

of the baddest
flipper on the planet.

But to use it, he's gotta
catch matty vasquez first.

Whiplash made the
semi-finals in 2018,

then lost in the
quarters last season.

Is this the year they
finally go all the way?

And in our opening bout.

Coming up, one of the biggest
upsets we've ever seen on b attlebots

in a knockout of uppercut,
the number 20 seed.

Ribbot continues to try and leap
over another higher-seeded team,

the brazilian
beater, black dragon.

Led by gabriel teles,
it has established itself

as one of the most
durable bots in the field.

And kenny, it's time to find out just
how tough dragon scales really are.

I'm so excited. Let's do this.

All right. Faruq, take it away.

Ladies and gentlemen,

it's robot fighting time.

- Yeah!
- Whoo!

In the blue square, from
worcester, massachusetts,

the amphibian that
continues to amphib-a-win,

it's ribbot.

Well, there's david
jin all the way to the right,

leading out his team from wpi.

Took out beta and
uppercut just to get here.

So, kenny, what weapon are they
going with for the quarter-finals?

Well, they're going
with their most powerful weapon

in their arsenal,
the vertical disc.

This team's
not-afraid-to-die attitude

is what's gotten them this far.

But it's a high risk,
high rewards style, chris.

Let's see if it pays
dividends for them here.

In the red square,
itajubá, brazil,

the mythological creature
that came to beat ya,

it's black dragon.

Knocked out
slammow! In the round of 32,

and then won a
unanimous decision

against former
champion, tombstone.

This is the team
led by gabriel teles.

Kenny, the familiar
egg beater drum

on black dragon is not present.

That's right. They're going
with the lighter dual disc spinner.

Um, that's gonna allow them to
place more armor on black dragon.

Um, they're gonna be
able to spin up a lot faster,

but they're not gonna
be able to hit as hard.

Because we both have
pretty reliable spinners,

I definitely think it's
gonna be a slug fest.

We're gonna try to
break their weapon first.

Whether that means hitting them
until something internally breaks,

or actually hitting them directly on
the weapon and breaking their belts.

'cause we did notice that they
broke belts in previous matches.

We have momentum going for
us. We've been winning by knockout.

I hope to continue that, and
obviously, top order's a huge deal.

Uh, we're happy that we
have a chance to fight for it.

To fight ribbot, we are going
with the two disc spinners.

And we have our wedgelets
that we use against force.

We have big
wheels, more traction,

so the strategy here
is to hold our ground,

let the wedgelets do their job,

and then carry them
around the battlebots.

Black dragon can
eat frog for breakfast.

Here we go!

Robots, activate.

Well, black dragon's
sounding awfully confident there.

For more on our first
quarter-final matchup,

let's bring in the bot
whisperer, peter abrahamson.

So, kenny, as you said,
they've added weight

by putting in those longer
wedgelets in the front.

But removing the egg beater
could possibly be a downfall in here.

By having a lighter
weight weapon,

they cannot gyroscopically
right themselves

as easily as they could
with the egg beater.

This may be an issue for them.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

There are eight teams still
standing and only one giant nut.

Do either of these two bots have
what it takes to be crowned champion?

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin!

Ribbot circling around.

Black dragon tracking him.

Uh-oh! Ribbot getting
hung up on the floor there.

Yeah, they're just also...

What a shot by black dragon!

- And ribbot can't drive inverted.
- Oh!

And that head will get
destroyed throughout this fight, kenny.

Oh!

Black dragon does a nice job
utilizing the battlebox to its advantage,

space out. Space out.

Ribbot has already lost three
of its four front wedgelets.

And black dragon
can't get too overconfident,

we've seen ribbot come back from

beatings before, like
they did against uppercut.

Oh!

- Insane!
- Huge shot.

And that frog head is finished.

U h-oh! Look at black
dragon, it's starting to heat up, chris!

Oh! Overheating,
kenny. It is smoking.

It sure is. It looks
to me like they may have

burned out their primary
weapon in that big collision.

So, yes. The weapon is
no longer working on black dragon.

- Ribbot is...
- oh, no!

Driving inverted and
now black dragon is on fire.

- Not in a good way.
- Oh, my goodness.

This is a major, major issue.

Now black dragon needs a
knockout potentially to win this fight.

I'm not sure they can last another
minute and 40 seconds, chris.

Well, they just had
ribbot up on the screws.

It seems to still
be driving okay.

But the question, for how long?

If ribbot just stays in the
middle of the battlebox,

eventually black dragon
is gonna stop running.

But look at this, black dragon is
trying to take ribbot under a pulverizer,

trying to do something to it.

Oh, there's a hit.

But ribbot says, "I'm
gonna keep running."

I don't think you can, fireboy!

Chris, nine times out
of ten, when we see a bot on fire

like this, it dies
almost instantly.

Black dragon is just
not backing down.

Black dragon still
running completely on fire

as we close in on
the one-minute mark.

I mean, we knew these
were two tough bots, but...

did we know
they were this tough?

Wow! Unbelievable.

- Black dragon is literally going up in smoke.
- It's getting worse.

Black dragon has about 50
seconds to survive this fire, chris!

This is unreal!

Black dragon has been on fire

for well over a minute.

And is still being the
more aggressive bot.

And they are winning this
fight, chris. Ribbot has to find a way

to right themselves and get
involved in this pushing match.

Because right now, they're
getting controlled and dominated

by a bot that just happens to be

engulfed in flames!

David jin's team,
I'm sure, is waiting,

expecting black dragon
to dive at the brazilians,

didn't show no indication
of slowing down.

In fact, somehow
they continue to attack

attack, attack.

Black dragon might pull this
off here, I think they're gonna survive.

This is unreal!

The last few seconds, black
dragon trying to make one more push

to impress the judges.

And it sure as hell impressed me.

Unbelievable.

Pete, have you ever
seen something like this?

Not had a bot
stay on fire that long

and it be their own fire.

Unreal!

Every one up on their feet

because they have never
seen anything quite like this.

Black dragon was on
fire, kenny, for two minutes

and four seconds and managed
to push it to a judge's decision.

That is insane. I mean,

again, as far as
toughness and durability,

that is crazy to me how
the judges are gonna view

that, though,

- I don't know.
- Wow.

Well, I hope black dragon
has a good fighter insurance policy,

because that bot is cooked.

We're gonna let the crew
clean up the aftermath here

and we'll have the decision
to this heated showdown.

That's when we
return on battlebots!

All right. Welcome
back to battlebots,

where ribbot and black
dragon are awaiting

a judges' decision
in one of the craziest

quarter final matches
we have ever seen.

Again, the teams will be
scored on an 11-point scale.

Five points to be
awarded for damage,

and three a piece for
control and aggression.

Kenny, in the
early going, black dragon

was having its way with ribbot.

But this is the moment

that threw the entire
match into chaos,

a massive collision that
disabled black dragon's weapon

and eventually actually led
them to erupt into flames.

And we both thought that
that was the end for the brazilians,

but instead of dying,
they stayed aggressive,

drove ribbot into the
hazards and continued

to control the action.

Unbelievable.
Kenny, the big question,

will the judges penalize
black dragon for that inferno?

Remember, durability is not
a category on the score cards

and you have to imagine
that fire did do some damage

to black dragon as a whole.

It's gonna be
a fascinating decision,

both bots lost their weapons.

Black dragon
clearly had control.

I think they'll pull this out.

But in a fight this crazy,

anything is possible.

The results from
the judges are in.

And the winner by
unanimous decision is...

Black dragon!

Black dragon!

Clever kill, clever kill!

Gabriel...

- You never die!
- Never!

Fire's our friend, so I was
not bothered about the fire.

I was bothered, "oh,
okay, we lost our weapon.

We lost our..." I think we lost
one battery in one of the hits.

But we are the black
dragon, so we have fire.

- We are okay. Yeah.
- There was a fear there, but...

yeah, you guys are so tough,
you can't even destroy yourselves.

Yeah! Oh, my god!

Gabriel, you guys were on fire

for two minutes and four seconds

in a three-minute fight.

Did you think that at any point

that your robot was
gonna stop working?

Uh... I wasn't...

I was thinking that,
"okay, we might stop."

but these guys worked so hard to

keep the robot, like,
hundred percent.

And we have a way to
keep the robot running all the time,

even if we lost our weapon. So,

uh, I truly believe in all the
work that this guy puts and...

We keep running,
we're in the semifinals.

All right, well, congratulations
to you and the rest of your team.

We will see you
in the semifinals.

Brazil!

An unforgettable
performance by the brazilians

as they send team
ribbot back to the lab.

But what a season
for the boys from wpi!

It will now be a race
against the clock

to get black dragon
back in fighting condition,

as it will meet the winner
of hydra and whiplash

in the semi finals
later tonight.

But right now,

the quarter finals continue
with a match-up between

the 6th seed, end game,
and the 19th seed, shatter!

Yeah, and this one
is going to be an absolutely

explosive clash of designs.

In one square, you have end
game, the hardest-hitting bot left

in the tournament.

They are knockout artists who
want to go straight for the jugular

and obliterate their opponent.

In the other square,
you've got the shifty shatter!

It is heavily armored, it's omni
wheels make it a tough bot to catch.

And it has a powerful
weapon in its own right.

I would not be surprised
to see one of these two bots

slugging it out for the title.

It'll be another good one.

Faruq, take it away.

In the blue square,

from brooklyn, new york,

the concrete jungle, this
bot came to rumble, it's...

Shatter!

Shatter upended lock-jaw
and mammoth to get here.

The guy that's pushing
the bot is adam wrigley

from brooklyn, new york.

And they're using a shorter
hammer arm for this fight, kenny.

Yeah, they're
going with their shortest arm

to limit the recoil pop
the bot experiences

when it fires the hammer.

Staying grounded could be
a huge advantage for shatter

as it prevents end game
from getting to its underdog.

In the red square, from
auckland, new zealand...

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

This battle's about to start.

Time's up.

It's end game!

Representing
auckland, new zealand,

it is team end game.

Upended perfect
phoenix and rotator

to advance to the finals.

Kenny, what adjustments
have they made for shatter?

Well, chris, you can
see those extra-long forks

on the front of end game.

They wanna use those
to get underneath shatter,

destabilize the bot
and feed it into their disk

for a knockout shot.

So, when you fight a big
vertical spinner like end game,

it only really takes one
well-placed tip from them

to destroy a whole frame.

So we are always conscious
of the spinner's energy

and we wanna make sure
they don't get under us.

They all get that big hit.

We try to keep the
hammer out of their weapon,

hit the chassis, drive well...

So it will be like, I
think, a driver's battle

and we'll try to nail their
chassis with the hammer.

This is, once again,

the most important fight
we've ever had at battlebots.

We really want that done.

Thing about shatter...
It's not really...

The hammer is
not the scariest part.

He's actually very heavily
magneted to the floor.

So, we've got a long,
shallow front on us,

which means it should
require less force

to get him off the ground.

'cause once the
magnets leave the ground,

they don't do anything anymore.

I think the best way
we can win this match

is if we hit it enough times
and the hammer breaks,

and then we flip
them upside down

and leave 'em there.

We're all ready to go
out. We wanna push on.

Yeah! Yeah!

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Two teams for their first
ever quarter final appearance.

Only one will survive.

Hold on to your bots!

Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin!

Oh! End game
going face to face.

Right from the
outset taking shatter!

My gosh!

End game doing exactly
what they told us they wanted to do,

using those long forks
to get underneath shatter.

But here comes shatter
looking to return the favor.

Oh! There's the hammer!

End game answers
to two quick jabs.

Adam wrigley let
his weapon fly now.

This is not a
good spot for shatter!

End game nearly
got shatter out of the box!

Wow!

Shatter flips back over, but it
has definitely got some issues

here in the first 30 seconds.

And it might not
be able to drive.

There it goes.

End game...
Very patient, very...

well, there goes
the hammer head!

And that's exactly
why he didn't want to go

weapon to weapon with end game.

Holy smokes!

Shatter is in
deep trouble right now

without that hammer head.

Still two minutes
remaining in this fight!

End game, will it go in
for the crushing blow?

Right in front of you,

you can hear that
whack of the plummet!

End game at a bend over here.

More bot parts of
shatter all over the place!

Unbelievable!

He can still win
this. He can still win this.

Shatter is decapitated,

but the arm is still swinging.

That's the only arm for shatter,

which is getting
ripped apart bit by bit!

Literally taken
apart piece by piece.

I see some control with shatter.

The wreckage is a warning!

Shatter crashing around

trying desperately to generate
some sort of movement,

but it might not be enough!

The countdown has started!

- Come on!
- Wow.

Adam wrigley
and shatter can't move!

They're flailing!

Put it out of its misery!

Hey!

Hey!

End game is moving on!

They just got under us.

Kenny, end game
took control of this fight

from the opening bell

using those long, sloping forks

to get under shatter
and dominate the action.

Absolutely. It was
all end game the whole time.

When you have a very powerful
vertical disk like end game,

it's just a terrible match up.

And after getting
back into the quarter,

shatter got rather desperate

and was forced to
throw the hammer

even if it meant going
weapon to weapon.

He really had to go for it

and maybe try to disable that
primary weapon of end game.

That did not work
out well for him.

He was a sitting duck once
he lost that hammerhead.

Not gonna do a whole
lot with that arm, chris.

End game was just
unbelievable out there.

So end game bulldozes
its way into the semi-finals

and the eyes of new zealand
are now fixed on this team

and its bid to become

the first ever international
battlebots champions.

Up next, aren hill's tantrum

will try to continue
its cinderella story

against jamison go and sawblaze.

Hurry up and find your
glass slippers, kenny.

We'll see that clash
when we return

on the final night

of the battlebots world
championship tournament.

We are back with the quarter
finals here on battlebots.

Up next, the action continues

as the seventh seed sawblaze
meets the 18th seed tantrum.

There you see the teams
making their final preparations

inside the battlebox.

A spot in the
semi-finals is on the line.

In the 2019 season,

jamison go and sawblaze saw
their dream of hoisting the giant nut,

come to an abrupt end
with a quarter final loss

to witch doctor.

Sawblaze incapacitated!

But they exercise those demons

in spectacular fashion
in this year's round of 16.

Jamison go and sawblaze

have gotten their revenge!

Kenny, could
this finally be their time?

Listen, sawblaze has
consistently shown it's an elite level bot

in every match they
fought this season.

This is the farthest they've
ever advanced in the tournament,

and jamison go has never
looked more confident.

This bot is a powder
keg of potential,

and this may be the year
we see it all come together.

You know, kenny, when
we looked at the entire field

at the beginning of the season,

you could've circled
several teams

that, kenny, I think
they'll be in the top eight.

I don't think tantrum would've
been in that discussion

based on what they did
the previous two seasons.

They were just kind of a 500 bot

kind of meandering their
way through battlebots live.

But aren hill said, "listen,
we poured thousands

and thousand of
hours into this thing.

I'm not shocked I'm here."

that's right.
Usually, when you see

a lower seated
team's still around

this late in the tournament,

luck had a lot to do with it,

but with tantrum,
it's all earned.

Aren hill has been
driving out of his mind.

And he is laser-focused

on controlling the ground
battle here against sawblaze.

All right. The
teams are ready to go.

A spot in the top
four is on the line.

Winner takes on end game.

Blue team, ready.

Captain aren hill
in the background there.

How does tantrum keep their
cinderella story going, kenny?

Well, aren knows
those forks on sawblaze

really allowed jamison
go to control a match.

He wants to bend and
damage those prongs

as quickly as he can here
to take that advantage away.

Red team, ready.

Ready?

Team sawblaze looking confident.

He's unconventionally
aiming for a judges' decision

due to tantrum's heavy armor.

His goal is to throttle
down his weapon

and show the judges
consistent damage and control,

but leaving a fight
up to the judges

is like a box of chocolates...

delicious?

Something like that, chris.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Go!

Let the bot battle begin!

Sawblaze.

Driving around,
trying to catch tantrum.

Oh!

Landed.

Tantrum doing a good job
of getting underneath that dustpan

but not that time!

Oh, boy.

Tantrum's gotta get free.

Of course, he's also trying to
bend the forks at the same time.

Wow, right now,
this is going well for tantrum,

that is, getting underneath
sawblaze right now

and showing some
good speed as well.

Whoa! Nice little pop.

Tantrum is so fast.

And doing a nice job

controlling the first
30 seconds of this fight.

Oh, and aren hill
trying to go after those forks,

trying to get those bent,

so they can have an easier time

at getting underneath
sawblaze, chris?

Yeah. Look at that!

Tantrum putting
sawblaze up on the screws.

Jamison go has got to get
outta there, and he does.

Looks like tantrum
is trying to push sawblaze

on the screws, direct in first,

hoping to break that saw.

Yeah, tantrum's done an
amazing job getting under the forks.

Kenny?

Yeah, sawblaze
is really struggling

with this ground battle here.

Tantrum utilizing
that primary weapon,

that vertical disc-spinner
at the right time.

Using it sparingly,
they're taking their time.

They're pacing themselves,

but staying aggressive
with their driving.

All right, that was a
good hit by the hammer saw,

but look at tantrum
with its disc spinner

doing some damage
to those front forks.

Sawblaze just hasn't
been able to get control in this fight.

Not at all.

You see the flame still working

but he can't even point it in
the right direction right now.

Aren hill and team tantrum

keeping jamison go
and sawblaze off balance.

Nice work pinning
him against the rails.

You can do that for ten seconds,

then you must
release your opponent.

Now, watch this,
he's gonna punch on the exit.

There it is!

Nice call, kenny.

You're the tony
romo of battlebots.

There he is,
kinda buffing the bottom,

the undercarriage
of sawblaze a little bit.

You can see that middle fork

is definitely bent
up on sawblaze.

Tantrum taking in two
with a minute to go.

Tantrum just throwing
jab after jab at sawblaze.

Sawblaze has gotta
change tacts here, kenny.

- He is running out of time.
- Yeah.

Oh!

A monster shot by tantrum!
The best one of the match.

Absolutely, that
was a knockdown in my book.

Oh!

Pieces of sawblaze
fly all over the battlebox

and tantrum might be trying
to knock him outta here, chris.

Yeah, tantrum is on the attack

looking for the right
way to get in there.

He backs up and
goes in for more.

Causing a few sparks.

Now the right side fork is
up in the air on sawblaze.

Sawblaze needs
to get nasty at this point.

Twenty seconds
left in this fight, chris.

It is desperation
time for jamison go.

In the meantime,

aren hill continues to
step on the accelerator.

He does get pinned to the corner

in the final few seconds.

Sawblaze gets a little control.

But that's gonna be it.

Wow! An
amazing performance

by the 18th seed tantrum.

Wow. Damn.

They got underneath
us every time.

So for the second
time in three matches,

we will go to the scorecards.

Your battlebots judges
are all former participants.

Derek young, lisa
winter and jason bardis.

Kenny, tantrum is
small, stout and quick.

Absolutely,
and I think, you know,

speed was something
that we underestimated.

We thought that sawblaze
was gonna be the faster bot,

and I think jamison go thought
he was gonna be the faster bot.

After watching this fight, I
don't think that was the case.

But more than anything else,
I think the strategy for tantrum

really played out
extremely well.

They executed their driving
and I think the biggest thing

was they won the ground
battle against sawblaze.

So often, sawblaze
just scoops up its opponent,

uses that dustpan, takes 'em
wherever they want in the battlebox.

We didn't see that, kenny, until
the final ten seconds of the fight.

No question, and you know what?

Everyone talks about
the driving of guys

like michael gellatly and
jamison go and matty vasquez.

I think aren hill just
established himself

as one of the best drivers
in the game as well.

What a performance!

The results from
the judges are in.

We have a unanimous decision.

And the winner is...

Tantrum!

Aren hill, as the
18th seed in this tournament,

you are now officially

going to be one of the
last four teams left standing.

How does that feel?

That's going to
take a while to set in.

Uh...

Yeah, that's all I
got for that one.

Why are you so speechless?

I just...

Like, he's one of the best
drivers in the sport. Period.

We held our own. I
feel real proud of that.

Aren, you are two wins away

from taking home the giant nut.

Did you dream about that
before this season started?

We've been working towards
that for three years now.

It's gettin' a lot closer.

It's almost a reality.

We'll see you in
the semi-finals.

Congratulations to aren
hill and team tantrum.

- You're off to the semis.
- Thank you, guys.

So we say an unexpected goodbye

to jamison go and sawblaze.

I have no doubt,
the sting of this loss

will fuel them to
return in even more

terrifying fashion next season.

Comin' up...

The quarter-finals conclude
as the number one overall seed,

hydra, squares off
against one of the best

all around bots in
the field, whiplash.

The final night of the world
championship tournament continues...

Next.

We continue on with the
quarter-finals here on battlebots.

He is kenny florian,
and I'm chris rose,

and this one is
such a tasty treat.

It's the number one
overall seed, hydra,

taking on the 8th
seed, whiplash.

You see the teams
inside the battlebox.

Getting their 250-pound
bots ready for war.

Hydra captain,
jake ewert told us,

"listen I have nothing but
respect for the vasquez family.

My goal is to put 'em
in the air at least once

because after
that, matt vasquez,

as good a driver as
he is, he tends to get..."

you remember the word he used?

- "squirley."
- yes. "squirley."

exactly. Uh, he thinks
that's gonna throw him off.

Um, I don't know.

Hydra hasn't been
truly been tested yet

and now is when they
show who they really are.

They've been so dominant,

is that a sign that they're so much
better than all of the other teams?

Or have they just not
been hit in the face yet?

We're about to find out tonight.

As for whiplash,

you remember that in the
2018 season, in the quarter-final,

that team faced the
premier flipperbot,

at the time, bronco,

and he ended up winning a
relatively easy decision here.

Now, matt vasquez
came out and said,

"hydra is better now
than bronco was then."

so he paused for some concern
but he still has confidence.

That's right, and they've
made some modifications

where they feel they're not gonna
let hydra get underneath them.

That remains to be seen.

What they for sure have is a
weapon hydra hasn't faced before.

That vertical spinner and lifter

than can attack from above.

Matty knows that's his
strongest advantage.

So if they can get some hits
going with that vertical spinner,

maybe we'll see a
knockout from whiplash.

It's gonna be a fun one.

The teams are in position

and ready to throwdown
for their tournament lives.

Let's get it on!

Blue team, ready?

I'm gonna be ready this time.

We're ready.

Jake ewert looking focused.

He knocked out hypershock
and gigabyte to get here.

How does he keep his
undefeated season alive, kenny?

He's in a
tough spot here, chris.

Those forks to
the front of whiplash

are longer that hydra's flipper,

which is going to make it difficult
for jake to attack from the front.

He knows this will be his
toughest match so far this season.

Let's see how he adapts to it.

They look wicked wedges.

They look really low.

Red team, ready?

Let's go.

And there's matty
vasquez of whiplash.

He typically comes
out aggressive.

Do you think we'll see that
against hydra here, kenny?

Yes, but look for
him to carefully pick his spots

on when to attack.

He knows hydra can end
a fight in the blink of an eye.

So, matt wants to
pin hydra into a corner

then use that spinner to
score some damage point.

Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight...

whyachi versus vasquez.

A trip to the semi-finals
is on the line.

Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight...

let the bot battle begin!

I think the
first couple exchanges

are gonna tell us
a lot here, chris.

Hydra, trying to work
its way toward whiplash.

Havin' a little driving
issue with whiplash.

Trying to get under hydra.

And does so and lifts it up.

Big hit!

Yeah!

Hydra flipped
itself off the screws

and right into
whiplash's weapon!

Jason vasquez
jumped extremely high

when he saw that they were
able to get through hydra.

Yeah, look at this.

And again whiplash
takin' hydra for a ride!

Couldn't quite
tank him into the rails.

Hydra finally puts
that flipper into play.

Look at whiplash
self-right them.

Matty vasquez on the attack,

getting his lifter
back in the mix.

Hydra looking for a good shot.

We're not used to
seeing hydra miss this many flips.

Whiplash doing a great job,

but hydra can't get it
going in a hurry, chris.

There you go, that's it!

Whoa! Oh, this is big
time trouble for whiplash.

Hydra has an angle to
lock him out of the box. Oh!

Doesn't quite get
the power I think.

A beautiful counter by whiplash,

spun around and dropped
that disk from overhead.

But hydra definitely evening out
the score card in that exchange.

You know, hydra's flipper

doesn't seem to have
the same level of pop

that we used to seein'
though tonight, kenny.

Yeah, we've
yet to see the big flip,

but whiplash cannot
get complacent.

Almost 90 seconds in,

whiplash still tryin'
to get under hydra.

Those forks
are doing an amazing job

by not letting hydra
attack from the front.

And hydra has
to be very careful...

- oh!
- Great shot there by hydra.

They have to be very careful when
they're going weapon to weapon.

You'll notice they're
not trying to flip.

They don't want
their primary weapon

to be ruined by that
vertical disk of whiplash.

Here's whiplash

getting underneath hydra again.

Oh!

Hydra with that counter shot
puts whiplash on its head!

Back-and-forth action!

I think hydra
has a brilliant strategy.

Instead of going first as
you see in the fight game

they're going second,

they're waiting for whiplash to attack
first then they're getting underneath.

They're being very patient here.

They don't know whether
you're gonna... Don't.

Don't get in between the...

under 50 seconds to go.

Both bots,

they have been aggressive
throughout the match.

Both have had stretches,
where they seem to be in control.

Hydra trying to
score some points

with that flipper as
we approach the finish.

Oh! Pops whiplash
head over heels.

But whiplash able to self-right.

Hydra has kept
the pressure on whiplash.

Under 25 to go.

Who's gonna make that last
stand to impress the judges?

Oh, there's a
nice hit by whiplash

to the side of hydra, chris.

Hydra has done a decent job

getting some flips on whiplash.

But it has done minimal damage.

This one is going
to go the distance

and whiplash tries to take some

out of the bottom of hydra!

In the final few kicks
whiplash is smoking.

But this one is over.

Whiplash doing a
celebratory dance

thinking they have advanced
to their second semi-final

of the last three seasons.

- We shall see.
- Wonderful job.

Can hydra, the tournaments'
number one overall seed survive?

The judges will decide.

That's when
battlebots continues.

Welcome back to battlebots

where the number
one overall seed hydra

has just gone the
full three minutes

in a back-and-forth all-out war

with the eighth seed whiplash.

It's now up to our judges to decide
who will advance to the semi-finals.

Kenny, hydra connected
on five flips in this match

but nothing that really
got whiplash air-borne.

That's right, we saw five flips,

but they weren't the same flip

that we've seen
from hydra in the past.

You see, whiplash
did a great job

of not allowing hydra to
really get underneath it.

There is whiplash winning
the the ground game

and then landing
some great shots

to the underbelly of hydra.

Whiplash managed to rip off

a few of hydra's
front wedge lids

which may have
affected hydra's ability

to feed them into its flipper.

But very little damage done
to whiplash in this fight, kenny.

Yeah, hydra kept
the pressure on whiplash

and even had an opportunity
to toss them out of the box.

They just couldn't
finish the job.

The control and aggression
categories should be close,

but about this
finish from whiplash

attacking the backside

and leaving the judges with
a powerful final on pressure.

The results from judges are in.

And we have a split decision.

Judge lisa scored
the battle for hydra!

Judge derek scored
the battle for whiplash!

Judge jason scored the battle...

For the winner...

Whiplash!

We did it! We did it!

We did it!

It's amazing.

We did it!

Fight! Fight! Fight...

matt vasquez,

I didn't know your brother had,

uh, that kinda hops in him.

I mean, the bot hit
the lighting grid on top.

Is he okay?

Uh, yeah, hey, he may
have saved this fight for us.

Before the fight, he added some,

like, little elastic
bands on our little forks

that pull 'em
closer to the ground

and I think we were
barely able to get under him.

So, I'm sure that's what did it.

And that's why we could
get those lifts on him.

- Matt...
- So, yeah.

It was actually six to five

- on all three judges' score cards.
- Yeah.

It was that close.

What do you think
separated you from hydra?

Uh, I think it was that last
shot at the end that we got.

I think that decided the fight.

Uh, I mean, that's the
last thing the judges see.

And we made big sparks,
got some damage on him.

And, uh, yeah, I
really think that was it.

It was the last five-ten
seconds that decided.

'cause they flipped us a lot
more times than we flipped them.

But it was just the damage we did
that I think, uh, really got us the win.

Ryan, if could just get
a fuller shot of the entire,

uh, vasquez family real quick.

I just wanna see mom
and dad at the end.

I know they're not miced, but...

You guys okay? You
proud of your boys?

- Yeah.
- All right.

Very good.

Are they cleared of their chores
this week at home, are they good?

They have to fix the robot.

"fix the
robot." good enough.

Guys, congratulations, we'll
see you in the semi-finales.

Thank you.

So whiplash moves on.

And for hydra and jake
ewert, what a season it's been.

Undefeated in the
qualifying rounds,

the number one overall
seed in the tournament.

And a trip to the top eight.

A tip of the backwards
cap to you, jake.

All right, we began the night

with eight
championship contenders

and after an electrifying
quarter final round,

we are now down to just four.

We've got nick
mabey, jack barker,

and the cold blooded
kiwi killers, end game.

Call him king gabriel
teles, first of his name,

the unburnt breaker
of weapon chains

and his miraculous
bot black dragon.

The dream tournament
continues for aren hill

and the stubborn
problem child, tantrum.

And, of course, the vasquez
brothers and whiplash.

Fresh off that narrow victory

over number one seed hydra.

One of these teams is just
two wins away from lifting

the giant nut and joining
the ranks of the best

to ever enter the battlebox.

We kick off the semifinals

when we return on battle bots.

Welcome back to battle bots,

and, kenny, we have arrived safely at
the semifinals. It's gonna be a ton of fun.

Up first, we've got the
sixth seed, end game,

taking on the 18th seed tantrum.

And let's start with the
bot from new zealand.

Few moments ago, we
caught up with nick mabey,

and we asked him how
he was doing, and he said,

"it's finally
starting to hit me.

Like, really. After winning
in the quarter finals,

it's starting to hit me
that we are within grasp

of winning the giant nut."

he said, "I have tremendous
reverence and respect

for my opponent
here in the semifinals."

but you know what?
This bot is rollin', dude.

It really is.

I mean, that vertical disc
spinner is really firing up.

So they are cautiously
optimistic, but

they understand they're
goin' against a brick in tantrum.

And it was really interesting.

I almost wanted to ask aren hill

for his driver's license

to make sure that his last
name wasn't ventimiglia.

I mean, the guy is
so laser focused.

Oh, definitely, you know. I
think that's a huge advantage.

You know, not getting
overly emotional

and being very clinical,

I think, is crucial to
success here at battlebots.

And I think he's gonna
stick to what's been

working for him as
far as strategy here.

Okay, kenny.
The first spot in the 2020

world championship
final is on the line.

Tantrum, end game,

let's see who wants it more.

Faruq...

in the blue square,
from mountain view, california,

it'll scream and shout
until you're knocked out,

it's tantrum!

Well, kenny, when it
comes to driving, I think that win

over sawblaze
proved that aren hill

is one of the baddest
dudes left in the tournament

in that category.

What's his strategy
against the kiwis?

It's going to
come down to control.

They want to try to get end
game up against the wall,

it's all about pinning,
pressing the action,

using these hazards and trying to
make this a full three-minute fight.

In the red square,

from auckland, new zealand,

the destructive
spinner in its prime,

about to commit a robot crime.

It's safe to say
you're out of time,

it's end game!

Well, kenny, that
disc right there in the middle

of the end game, so ferocious.

Yeah, it hits
hard, it hits heavy.

Their goal for this
fight is to win quick

and they kinda consider
tantrum unkillable.

But one way to
end the fight quickly,

get 'em out of the arena.

And get this, chris, their
four knockouts this season,

end game's fights
have lasted on average,

just 59.2 seconds.

That's right. That's
less than a minute long.

The trick I think to
fighting end game

is gonna be avoiding
any of those big hits.

Controlling the
engagements whenever I can.

In order to get a good fight,
you need to be driving quickly

towards somebody. So if I
can slow down engagements,

that's gonna be key.

I think sawblaze was one of
the biggest obstacles between

us and the giant nut.

And now that we
somehow made it past that,

I... I think we got a pretty
good shot at takin' it.

I mean, our strategy against
tantrum is gonna be the same

with most of our other robots.

Just face the front, at 'em

and insert the
weapon into their robot.

This is the way the
geometries work out.

We've got the upper hand,
his weapon's quite low.

So if he goes for us, he'll
hit our armor or our weapon.

And I think just the relative
comparison size of the weapons,

we're happy to go
weapon to weapon.

Robots activate...

okay. Four teams left
standing in this tournament.

Tantrum versus end game,

which one will be the first to
punch their ticket to the finals?

Blue team, you ready?

Red team, you ready?

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight...

Bring it on to the ring.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight...

let the bot battle begin!

Tantrum looking to get
around the side of end game.

He's got 'em. Punching
him into the corner.

Look out!

End game
kinda hopped outta there

just at the right moment.

Almost got pinned
up against the wall,

this is exactly
what tantrum wants.

Yeah. End game looks a
little off balance to begin with, kenny.

So far, those truck
forks on end game

aren't really allowing
them underneath tantrum.

How about tantrum taking
end game into the rail!

- Oh, no!
- Oh, no! Tantrum is smoking.

Tantrum's smoking.

Oh!!

- Oh, look at that!
- Uh-oh!

The puncher is now
under end game.

Oh!

Tantrum still able
to puncture that weapon.

But the disc is no
longer spinning, kenny.

Yeah, they burnt
out their weapon motor, chris.

Can end game take advantage?

Tantrum sneaking
underneath again.

Oh!

Oh!

That was a
beautiful hit... And another.

Oh, wow!

What a sequence by end game!

Picking tantrum
apart with its weapon.

And, kenny, one of tantrum's
front forks is now mia.

This is going south
for tantrum in a hurry.

Aren hill needs to find a
way to stop the bleeding.

Smoke continuing
to leak from tantrum.

Can they find a way to power
back without their primary weapon?

End game smells blood.

Oh! There's the best shot.

Oh!

And tantrum on its head. Wow!

They have those
self-righting fists,

and I'm not sure
they're working right now.

Aren hill already clapping
for team end game.

I think he knows it's over.

End game with a
huge one-two punch!

And matt's gonna cue
in the team with a fist...

- ..Seven, six, five...
- Oh! Tantrum...

Getting knocked out

and end game is on
to the championship.

Two, one...
Tantrum is knocked out!

Yes! Let's go!

Tantrum was
oh so close there to stop.

And the crew from
auckland, new zealand,

is now just one win away from
becoming battlebots royalty.

Kenny, tantrum had
'em in the first half.

I am not gonna lie.

Absolutely. Tantrum
consistently got underneath end game,

pushing one of the most
dangerous bots in the sport around.

Just fearless out there, despite
the massive stakes of this match.

But then, we saw some smoke.

And ultimately, the weapon died,

and the momentum completely
shifted over to end game.

When you lose
your primary weapon,

it is uh-oh time.

And chris, at the
highest level of any fight,

you make one mistake
and that could be your last.

They say the
first shot stunts you

and the second
one knocks you out.

- Oh...
- nick mabey...

my heart during
that match... Aren...

Driving's so well.

Nick, where did this match turn?

Oh, man.

Uh, I think at the point where
his weapon stopped going.

And then, uh, we got
under him a couple times.

And I think we must have
taken out the self-righters.

'cause we flipped him
and he didn't get back up.

You guys said his
bot was unkillable

but you guys
just landed a kill shot.

We didn't expect it.

But we were...

we think we can probably
kill anything at this point.

Jack, um, you know,

when you're not working
the way you want to

and you see the
clock ticking down

how do you not panic?

I've done a lot of
robot driving in my time

and I know that fights
can be won anytime.

I've lost fights in that last
two seconds, you know.

And I've won fights in
the last two seconds.

So, a fight is never
over until it's over.

So, you just keep
going and keep going

- until something happens.
- Yeah.

- And you get in with it.
- This is why jack drives.

Uh, I don't wanna put literally

the weight of the
world on your shoulders,

but there has never
been an international bot

that has won the giant nut.

What would that
mean to you, nick?

That would be so amazing

to bring it home
for new zealand.

Congratulations, jack barker,
nick mabey, all of your team

there with end game.

All right, so, now we are
off to the next semi-file.

I imagine end game might
wanna stick around for this one.

Because comin' up next,

it's whiplash, the team from
sunny southern california

gettin' ready to take on the
bot from brazil, black dragon.

And this was the scene
in black dragon's pit area

after their fight
against ribbot.

Now, we're being told they
somehow have the robot ready to go

after it went chernobyl
on us earlier tonight.

The final spot in the
world championship match

will be decided in mere moments.

Who will claim it?

Find out next on battlebots.

All right, we are
back on battlebots

and, kenny, end game has
already punched it's ticket,

has a reservation in the final.

Our next semi-final
is only moments away.

As you see, black dragon
and whiplash gettin' set

for the biggest
fight of their careers.

And let's start with
the team from brazil.

When we saw black
dragon earlier tonight

they were cookin' ribbot.

Yet, somehow they actually
won their quarter final match up.

That despite being on fire for
two minutes and four seconds.

That is one tough bot.

Well, they were really
saved by their robot's internal design.

They told us the fire was
caused by their weapon battery

which is in its own compartment

and completely separate
from their drive battery.

Design or not though,
to have a fire that big

contained solely to
their weapon battery

seems like some kind of robot
god divine intervention to me.

Gabriel told us
the bots repaired.

It's good to go.

He wants this win over whiplash

he wants that giant nut.

In 2018,
whiplash made it this far

before bowing out
in the tournament.

Are they gonna make
their first tournament final

or will we have our first
ever all international final?

It is time to find out.

So, we are facing whiplash.

A tough bot to a great driver,

matt, who's driving
skills are insane.

But, we think we can handle him.

We switched a lot of parts.

We switched to the egg beater,

because, with the egg beater

our gyroscope in fact
is, uh, more effective.

So, we can, uh,
self-right the robot faster.

Black dragon really
wants this shot.

We really want
to get in the finals.

And, we want our shot.

We're gonna run the
exact same configuration

we used against hydra.

'cause it's the same thing.

And this is a fight we
wanna get low ground first,

we wanna get under him,

we wann be the one pushing them.

It's critical that we
get that first shot.

We get underneath him
before they get underneath us.

I think we do have an advantage

that they thrive off of fighting
robots with big weapons

so that they could run into
their weapons, stop their weapon.

And they control the fight.

Whiplash isn't like
that. We're a lifter.

So, I think that
change of strategy

will work in our
favor for this fight.

But, uh, yeah, I'm feeling
pretty good about this factor.

Robots activate.

Nick and jack of
team end game in the crowds

scouting this match up.

Their championship
opponent is in the box.

So, who's it gonna be?

The brazilians?

Or the california kids?

Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight...

we started this historic evening

with images of a
young matty vasquez.

Can he kick his stellar
career to new heights?

Or does it all come
crashing down

at the feet of black dragon?

Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight...

let the bot battle begin!

Major box rush by whiplash

who gets right in
black dragon's grill.

Matt vasquez
letting gabriel teles know

he's here for a fight.

Whiplash trying
to get under black dragon

and then hit the weapon.

- And there's sparks. Oh!
- Oh!

There goes the
little wedge of black dragon.

So, first shot fired by whiplash

and make it a second,

now he's gonna
take him to the rail!

And look at this,
black dragon is now inverted.

That is a bad, bad spot to be in.

Whiplash continues
it's all-out assault.

Whiplash going
right at black dragon,

getting underneath,
getting that lifter involved.

Big hit again by whiplash.

That egg beater hasn't
done much for black dragon.

- Yeah!
- Once again,

black dragon back on its head!

Oh, there is a lot of
weapon-to-weapon action.

Chris, getting rid of that wedge

on the right side of
black dragon is not good.

They're gonna be vulnerable
in this whole fight now.

And right now,
they're in a bad spot.

They're actually
caught on something.

They're caught
on the wedge of whiplash!

Now whiplash has
lost one of its front forks

and suddenly, black dragon
has tipped the scales a bit.

Can the brazilians find
a way to right themselves

and at a comeback here?

And I'm not sure

if either one of these
primary weapons

is still functional, chris.

And that very much
favors team whiplash.

Dad, how long do we have?

Five seconds.

Matt vasquez has
the brazilians pinned here

using the box to his advantage.

Yeah, I mean,

this is a classic whiplash
strategy right here.

Just showing their
dominance with their control.

Taking black dragon

for a ride across
the battle box there.

Whiplash, awfully
happy to play this game,

pinning the brazilians
against the screws this time.

Black dragon just
does not have many options.

Without an active weapon
and inverted like this, chris.

Meanwhile, whiplash,

one of the most versatile
robots we've ever seen!

And look at this!

- Look at this!
- Oh!

This could be a knock-out.

That was unbelievable!

He just stood up black dragon!

And their primary
weapon's still workin'!

Yes, it is!

Will whiplash attack?

Holy smokes!

Choppin' away! What a
sequence from whiplash!

It kinda feels
like their just toying

with black dragon at this point.

Under 30 to go, left in
this semi-final match!

This has been a control battle

and when it comes
to that category

matty vasquez is the
number one guy in the world.

15 seconds to go
in the second semi-final!

Aw! Black dragon getting
put up on the screws.

Whiplash is trying
to put him out of the box.

He doesn't have time for a countdown.

But what a dominant
performance by matty vasquez.

Chris, this is drowning poetry,

absolute masterclass
performance by matty vasquez.

Well, this is our fourth
judges' decision of the night.

But, kenny, if the judges
watched the same fight we just did,

I think we know which
way this is gonna go.

Kenny, we knew that whiplash
was gonna be uber-aggressive.

He just never stopped.

This was another vintage
matt vasquez performance right here.

So technical, so precise.

Black dragon had its moments,

but I tell you what, when they
lost that front part of their wedge,

that was kind of the beginning of the
end, 'cause they lost their protection.

And whiplash took full advantage

and controlled the
rest of this match.

The egg beater on black
dragon wasn't doing a whole lot,

so you saw whiplash
firing this bot

into the screws in
the final few seconds.

If it had happened
15 seconds earlier,

it likely would have been a ko.

Instead, it goes to
the judges' scorecard.

The results from
the judges are in.

And the winner by
unanimous decisions is...

Whiplash!

We did it.

Matt vasquez.

- Yeah.
- You are in the finals.

- Yeah.
- Sense of relief?

Yeah, a huge relief
there. 100%. Yeah.

My hands were shaking so
much for, like, ten minutes, right?

It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah.

Uh, the amount of control
that you demonstrated

out there with your driving,
matty, was a thing of beauty.

At one point, you kinda
placed him on his back,

and it looked like you
were gonna get a knockout.

Did you purposely
kinda bump into him

to kinda keep
causing damage there?

Uh, I didn't want to let
the fight end that way.

I wanted... Honestly, I
wasn't trying to let him,

you know, sit there
the full ten seconds.

I wanted to, like, get
a good shot, you know.

I was really kinda aiming
for the shot I wanted,

but, no, I wasn't
gonna leave him there

and, yeah, just can't
end the fight like that.

You're gonna face
end game in the final.

Tell us your first thought.

End game is so brutal.

They're probably the
hardest-hitting robot here.

They knocked out
tombstone in seconds.

They just knocked
out tantrum. It looked...

Which looked like, to be, you
know, the toughest robot here.

So, yeah, they're
gonna hit us hard

and we're gonna try
to not let them do that.

It's gonna be really tough.

- Should be a great final.
- Yeah.

Matt, congratulations to
you and your entire family.

Yeah, thank you.

- Yeah!
- Whoo-hoo!

All right, so everybody at
home, take a deep breath.

We will do the same,
because coming your way,

right after a break,
it's end game,

it's whiplash.

We've reached the
summit of robot combat,

where legends are made
and legacies are cemented.

After two straight
seasons of pure domination

from paul ventimiglia
and bite force,

we will crown a new
champion tonight.

And for these two teams,

it's their chance to
complete the journey,

join the hallowed ranks
of b attlebots c hampions

dating back over two decades,

and raise the giant nut.

Don't go anywhere.
This is battlebots.

Welcome back to battlebots.

And, kenny, the
moment is finally here.

This unprecedented season
comes down to just two teams,

each with visions of
championship glory.

But there's only path
to lifting the giant nut,

and it's through each other.

End game!

- Oh, my goodness!
- Wow!

End game has
done the unthinkable.

At the start of the
season, if you told us

that we'd be one win
away from the giant nut...

yeah!

End game is on
to the championship.

We would have all
said, "you're crazy."

whiplash!

This is 100% the
biggest fight of our lives.

We've been aiming for this for
as long as we can remember.

There comes whiplash.

Oh!

End game's weapon
is absolutely terrifying.

End game, ferocious.

They do more damage
than anyone in this whole tournament.

Oh, my god!

But if you can flip them over,
they're gonna launch themselves.

End game struggling to survive.

That's what we need
to do in this fight.

We've been watching
matt drive for so long now.

Matt vasquez
is an absolute beast.

We're a little bit
worried about his lifter.

Our self-riding in the past
has been a little questionable.

Oh, could end game recover?

But hopefully, we
can get one or two big hits in.

I think that will
really turn the tide.

What a shock by end game.

We know we can take the hits.

Oh!

It might just come down to
who has the tougher robot.

Whiplash with a huge box rush.

We're gonna try and face
him, and let him drive to us.

The championship is way
too important to go to the judges.

We want a knockout.

We have no choice
but to leave everything out there.

Give it everything we got.

This could be it.

Most
important fight of our lives.

I think it's very
obvious what the stakes are.

It's the giant nut.

Tensions in the arena are high

as we move closer to
crowning a champion.

And you can only imagine
the nerves swirling in the pits.

Fortunately, we've got
jenny taft back there,

who moments ago,
caught up with the captains

to get their final thoughts
before taking the plunge.

How you guys feeling?

We've done everything
that we possibly can.

I think there's nothing
left that we can do.

- This is it.
- We have good chances. It's just down to driving now.

Yeah. You got to
the finals, though.

Can you guys pat
yourself on the back at all

in just getting to that point?

I think... I think we
can't be complacent.

I think if we were maybe
a couple games back

and stopped there, we would have
been happy with our performance.

But now... Now we have to win.

- We want to go all the way.
- Yeah

jack, nerves, in
terms of driving,

- going up against matthew?
- I'm not very nervous at all.

We wanna win.

We're on the track now.

- Yeah.
- We want to drive now, but, you know,

if you get nervous, you're
just gonna make mistakes,

so we're just gonna
stay calm and do our best.

You guys have been cool,
calm and collected the whole way,

and I'm sensing
the same vibe, matt.

We're surprisingly
calm right now.

- Yes.
- Not sure why.

But, I mean, even when
we lost our first fight,

for some reason,
we were all very calm.

I think we were just
confident that we could take on

pretty much every other
robot here. And it's paid off.

Jeff, you've been a part
of this world for 20 years.

What took you to this
point to get to the final?

Amazing. I never
thought I would be here.

And to do it with my sons,
there's nothing better in the world.

Oh. - that's it.

- Good luck, you guys.
- Thank you.

Thank you, jenny.

Fantastic work back
there all season long.

All right. The teams are about
to make their way into the arena.

Kenny florian, take
us through the numbers.

Well, chris, these
numbers really highlight

the dichotomy
between these two bots,

it's spectacular speed
versus knockout power.

Whiplash has the
more powerful drivetrain.

And with matty vasquez
behind the wheel,

good luck landing
any clean shots.

But when it comes
to kinetic energy,

you can see end game's
weapon has a huge advantage.

So, if jack barker can catch
matty vasquez making a mistake,

which is a big 'if, '

it could be all
over with one hit.

Whiplash needs to be
perfect for three minutes.

Nick mabey and end game only
need to be perfect for a half a second.

So many questions this season.

We're about to get
our final answer.

- Are you ready?
- Let's do this.

- Faruq, do your thing.
- Whoo!

Ladies and gentlemen,

are you ready?

It's championship
robot fighting time!

In the blue square,

according to ancient bibles,
they're rich with wisdom.

You can tell how good a
bot is by listing their victims.

This new zealand team
first jumped on to our radar

when they buried tombstone

inside his own graveyard.

They impaled wheel bells
and took out perfect phoenix.

Then beat victor soto,
a bot-building genius.

New york was their next target,

as they ko'd shatter.

Then they beat tantrum and
continued to climb the ladder.

Now they're in the finals.

And the giant nut is at stake.

After an entire
season of leaving

dead bots in their wake.

Give it up for...

End game!

Here they are, and
look at the face of nick mabey.

The co-captain on the right.

Usually this team is
smiling, they're full of energy.

Do they look tight
to you, kenny?

Nick mabey, uh,
certainly looks tight to me.

Kenny, end game
knows it might end up

on its head at
some point tonight.

Can it self-right?

Well, you know, they
do a self-righting mechanism

which if they need to
use, they will try to do that.

But they need to self-right
as quickly as possible.

Their best route to doing that

is with that vertical disc spin.

Oh, yeah. The
signature shades are on.

End game, it's game time!

In the red square,

ask anyone, they'll say
they always stay humble.

But make no mistake,

this family came to rumble.

They've been working for years,

showing their strut.

Now the only thing left to win

is that first giant nut!

Two brothers who drive
with passion and pride,

when they walk out together,

a look there says, "let's ride."

so what was said right
before this final bout,

the message was simple,

mama said, "knock
you all the way out!"

give it up for whiplash!

There they are,
the vasquez family.

Jeff, debbie,

the driver matt on the
left, his brother jason.

They are soaking in this moment.

They have been waiting
for it for years and years.

Jeff used to be a competitor,

he passed the love
of robotics onto his son.

And you hear it a
moment ago with jenny,

this is one proud papa.

Well, that's for sure.

But yeah, you have to think the
nerves are taking over right now.

His boys are one win
away from making history.

Chris, this is gonna
be something special.

Whiplash, whiplash, whiplash...

all right, for more on
this championship match up,

we bring in our bot whisperer.

All right, peter. You've
waited all season for this.

Break down the championship.

Ugh! I'm super
anxious about this fight.

This is going to
be intense. Um...

Watch for things like end game
approaching with a much slower

weapon speed.

They obviously do not want
to give that gyroscopic action

and open up a window for
whiplash to take advantage of.

Watch for things
like when they get hit

and they're being
carried across the arena,

to speed up their weapon,

to help them self-right without
having to use that self-righter.

They want to go
head on all the time.

Now, of course,
whiplash. Their big hope

is to damage the actual
self-righter if they can.

And not take the big
hit straight to the face.

Whiplash, whiplash, whiplash...

robots activate.

It is championship time.

The giant nut is up for grabs.

We will have a new champion.

Will it be from
auckland, new zealand?

Or from thousand
oaks, california?

We'll find out
next on battlebots!

In addition to the giant nut,

each year we present giant
bolts to the seasons beat in show.

This year's "most destructive"
award as voted on by the judges

went to leanne
cushings' valkyrie.

Scorpios won the
"founders" award,

recognizing the team who's worked
inside and outside the battle box

pushes this sport forward.

We presented a new award to
the "season's best newcomer."

rusty!

And finally, we handed
out the award for "best design."

but not before making
a fitting change.

As we all know, grant
imahara passed away.

And so we have decided to
rename the "best design" award

in his name. This year's recipient
of the grant imahara award

for best design as voted on by
the battlebot builders themselves,

goes to chomp.

Welcome back to
battlebots where we are gearing up

to crown a champion here
in the final fight of the season.

Representing new zealand, it is jack
barker and nick mabey of end game

facing the vasquez
family and whiplash.

Winner takes home the giant nut.

Blue team, you ready?

Red team, you ready?

- Hit it.
- Let's go!

The scoop should go
to the middle, I think...

fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight...

these teams have
poured thousands of hours

into perfecting
these two robots.

The next three minutes
will determine which one

will be called champion.

Fight! Fight...

let the
championship final begin!

Whiplash out of the gate.

Matty vasquez circling.

Jack barker holding
steady with end game.

Whiplash showing respect for end
game's weapon, looking for an angle.

Nice job by jack barker though,

cutting it off, not
giving matty vasquez

any opportunity. Now vasquez...

and he takes the
shot from end game.

End game just kinda
waiting for whiplash.

Oh-oh!

Whiplash jump on the screw.

Oh, lots of sparks early on.

- oh-oh!
- And end game trying to dig in right in the middle

of whiplash.

Yeah, end game trying
to get to that primary weapon

and disable it, chris.

Looks like whiplash's
vertical spinner has stuck.

At least momentarily.

Whiplash still
alive though, chris.

They've got two weapons left.

Their lifter and the driving
skill of matt vasquez.

We are just
about a minute in now.

End game keeping
that patient posture

waiting for the action
to come to them.

Whiplash probing...

Good job, good job.

The giant nut
hangs in the balance.

End game trying to
get underneath whiplash there.

Matt vasquez won't allow it.

Whiplash inching closer

end game puts out his head
and delivers a stinging shot!

Can whiplash recover?

End game stalking its prey.

Looking rock solid and
ready to pounce, kenny.

Whiplash right back in there,

face not willing to surrender.

Oh, there we go, whiplash,

- exposed and taking another shot.
- O h!

Whiplash delivers another one.

Oh, my god! That is it!

That is it! End game
is taking the giant nut.

Back overseas.

Whiplash has been
knocked out of the arena.

Wow!

An unbelievable performance

by end game driver jack barker.

End game! End game!

Are you kidding me!

End game is your new
battlebots world champion.

Kenny, whiplash just
never looked comfortable.

Well, let's
credit end game for that.

They controlled the
center of the box,

seemed to have no trouble
getting underneath whiplash.

And some of these hits here,

their weapon going
right up the gut.

Then this crucial, pop in flip.

I mean, wow!

The carnage here on whiplash,

I didn't expect to see that.

What a performance
from end game.

Yeah, they knocked
out whiplash's primary weapon

and what did matt vasquez say?

"hey, listen, that's okay.

We actually have
two primary weapons."

but he never could
get that lifter going.

That's right, and you know,

they took away all
their vulnerabilities.

They did not want to give
up that gyroscopic movement.

They knew that whiplash will
be able to get underneath them,

and they just kinda waited.

They knew that whiplash
was going to be very fast.

Instead of going out there
and trying to chase them,

they just pointed their weapon,

they took advantage
of the moment,

got 'em right out
of the battlebox

and just never let up.

That is the knockout shot

that landed the giant nut
in auckland, new zealand.

Nick.

Jack.

Hi.

What just happened!

We won the giant nut!

Oh, my god!

End
game! End game! End game!

Hey, nick what does it mean

to be the first
international competitor

to take the giant nut
back to your homeland?

Oh, my god. It's so amazing.

I'm so proud of the whole
team. I'm so proud of all of us.

We've worked so
hard and it's paid off.

Well, nick, you interested
in getting the giant nut?

Yes!

All right, let's bring it in!

And presenting it to you,

the co-creator of
battlebots, trey roski.

- Thank you, trey.
- Thank you.

Nick mabey and
jack barker, congratulations.

You guys are the
battlebots world champions.

Go celebrate with your team!

Whoo!

Congratulations
to team end game.

There's gonna be one
heck of a party

back in auckland, new zealand.

Thanks to all the bot builders.

You had a lot to go through
this season.

We can't wait to see you
again next season.

Whoo!

So that's gonna
wrap it up for us.

For jenny taft and faruq.

Our bot whisperer, pete.

And my man, kenny florian.

I'm chris rose,
we'll see you next season

on battlebots!

Think you have what it takes

to be the next battlebots
world champion?

Go to discovery. Com/battlebots

to find out how to join in
on the action.